Pool cleaner



P 1959 J. EISTRUP 2,902,705

POOL CLEANER Filed 0612.v 8, 1956 INVEN TOR. JOSEPH EISTRUP BY @411,%%:%J

ATTORNEYS United States Patent POOL CLEANER Joseph Eistrup, San Mateo,Calif.

Application October 8, 1956, Serial No. 614,689

4 Claims. ((11. 15-246.5)

This invention relates 'to a device for removing'leaves and otherforeign solids from the floor of a'swimming pool and the like.

One of the objects of this invention'is the;provision of a'simple,economically made, rugged, and easily manipulated device for removingleaves, and other foreign solids from the bottom of swirnming pools, andwhich device does not require any power driven parts nor water or airunder pressure, in order to operate it for accomplishing the desiredresults.

At the present time expensive vacuum type cleaners are employed forremoving the silt andrelatively fine foreign matterfrom the floors ofswimming pools. Large leaves and many other solids are too "bulky toreadily pass through the restricted'throat of a 'cleaner'of this type,and the throat and other parts of the cleaner tend to: become clogged,thus rendering'thecleaner inoperative, orv else noticeably impairing itsefficiency.

'One of the objects of this invention is theprovision of a relativelycheap and simple device that is adapted to quickly and easily removefrom the floor of a pool such solids as would impair the efliciencyofthevacuum cleaner type of cleaner. Since cleaners of thevacuumactuated type are now used more frequently thanis required, inorder to remove certain larger solids that may quickly be removed withthe cleaner of this invention, the provision of the present cleaner willreduce the necessity for using the vacuum type cleaner, except at suchrare inter vals as may occur when very fine silt or the likesettles outof the water. -Such silt usually .comesfrom dust, hence is slow inaccumulating.

The difficulty of using a mechanical device for removing leaves andother solids from a pool,is.mainly due to the fact that the leaveson-the floor of the pool, when influencedby the current produced inmoving'the device through the water tend to float awayfrom the device,or to swirl into the-current that follows the .device .in its movementthrough the water.

The present invention overcomes the above difliculties. The user merelymoves the device over the floor. of thepool to the leaves or materialtobe removed andthe leaves will readily enter the device and be caught,and-any leaves or other material onthe floor and at the sides of.thepath of the device will remain undisturbedfor beingquickly caughtupon moving thedevice to them.

One ofvthe objects of the inventionis fthe provision of arcleaner thatwill have the advantagesabove described. .Otherobjects andadvantageswill:appearin the;descrip- .t-ionland .drawings, one .ofwhichi-s the provision of :a cleaner that is quickly and easilyadjustable for eflicient ly removing; difierent sized leaves .and. the.like, from a pool. Where a swimming pool is located -nnder or neartrees,.-;such as sycamore trees,-the leaves falling :intothe poolwill bemany, times larger: than the, leaves. from many other typesoftrees, suchas elm etc.

:Inzthe drawings:

:Eig. .1; is aperspectiveivie-wof. the cleaner, with.the.handle brokenaway to accommodate the view to the sheet.

Kit?

Fig. 2 is a side elevational view of the cleaner .of Fig. 1.

'Fig. 3 is an enlarged front elevational view ofzthe cleaner of Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a side view of the bag on the cleaner, only part of thecleaner being shown with said partin section and the bag being insection where it isconnectedwith the cleaner.

In detail, the cleaner illustrated in the drawings comprises what may becalled a scoop, and which sscoop has a bottom 1, top 2 and opposedsidewalls generally designated 3, 4, (Fig. 3 The front or leading :end ofthe scoop is open, and the rear or trailing end-is a1so open,thusproviding a through open ended passageway,

The words front, rear, leading, and .trailingand words .of similarmeaning are used with reference :to the normal movement of the device,in which the front" or leading end, is'theend'thatleadsduring-snchmovement, while the rear and trailing-end is theopposite end.

The top and bottom 'walls are preferably similar in outline with theirside edges along the side walls extending convergently from the leadingmarginal portions of the said top and bottom walls. Said leadingmarginal portions 5, 6 (Fig. 1) arepreferably :substantiallyhori-'zontal and opposed, except that the leading marginal portion 6 of thebottom-wall is a blade adaptedto slide overthefloor of the poolalong itsleading e dge,=:and.to slant slightly upwardly from such floor in arearward direction from theleading edge thereof.

,The'rear' or trailing ends of the upper end lower walls preferablyterminate in marginal portions 7, is having flanges 9 extendingdownwardlyfrom the side vedges of thetop wall 2, and flanges 10extending upwardly ,,from theside edgesof the bottom wall 1. Theseflanges also extendalong the side edges'of the leading and trailingmarginal portions of the top and bottomwalls.

The top and bottom walls 2, lrpreferablyextend diver gently relativevtoeach other in direction-from the from marginal portions 5, 6 toward the;rear marginal sportions- 7 8 so'thatthe open rear end of the,scoopiissubstantially greaterin vertical width'thanthe spacing :betweenthe forward edges of thetop andxbottom Walls when the walls are at theirminimum distance apart. The .spacingbetween the side walls ;at the rear:end of.the scoop is preferably no less than-the vertical spacing,:andit may-be greater if desired.

The maximum vertical width 'of'theflanges :at"the;for- Ward end of the:scoop is preferably substantially :equal'to the-minimum vertical spacingbetween the;for ward'marginal; portions, .which,-in a practical example,may-be; approximately twoinches, and the width of the flanges is-suflicient to insure their lapping at opposite .sides 'ofit-he scoopwhen the forward ends ofthetop andbottom-walls arernoved apart to theirmaximum "spacing, :as 'will be described.

The flanges 9, 10 atteach of the sides io'f-thescoopgare pivotallyconnected at their rear ends by horizontal coaxial pivots 12 (Fig.2) topermit the front er leading ends of thetop and bottom .walls to bespaced apart different distances. The flanges 9 are formed with arcuateslots :13 concentric'with said pivots .and through which bolts .14carried by the flanges v10 extend. .A wing nut.15-.on

each .nut clamps the flanges together to .hold thetop and bottom wallsspaced apart thedesireddistanee when the nuts 15 are tightened.

Therear end of the scoop is supported in elevatedposi .tionfor movemento'fthe scoop over the 'floor o'f a pool by means of wheels 16 on theends of an axle 1'7'that,'in

turn, is secured to the bottom wall 1. The blade 6 at the leading end ofthe bottom wall will rest on the floor of the pool when the scoop ismoved over the floor so as to enable, the blade to slide under leavesand other foreign material on said floor.

The inclination of the bottom wall 1 is relatively slight when the blade6 is against the floor so that the forward movement of the scoop issuflicient to cause leaves and the like to readily slide over the bottomwall 1 and out of the rear end thereof.

The rear or trailing end of the scoop provides an outlet, the walls ofwhich are the rear marginal portions 7, '8 of the top and bottom walls,and the parallel opposed rear end portions of flanges 9, 10. The top andbottom walls of the outlet may be formed with ridges 18 (Fig. 4) and theforward end of a horizontally elongated open work mesh bag 19 extendsover the rear end of the scoop and past said ridges. Any suitable meansmay be provided for releasably, yet snugly, securing the forward end ofbag '19 over the walls of the scoop outlet. One such means would be arelatively heavy elastic cord 20 around the mouth of the bag and carriedby the bag.

The mesh openings of bag 19 are relatively large so as to permit waterto pass therethrough with very little resistance, but sufficiently smallto catch and to hold leaves, twigs etc. A bag 22 having smaller meshopenings is preferably over the rear end of bag 19, so that bag 22 willcatch and hold much finer particles than will be held by bag 19. Whilethe mesh openings in bag 22 are sufficiently small to catch and to holdsome silt, it is not the intent that the present device remove the finesilt from the fioor of the pool. But it will remove the largerparticles.

Both bags 19, 22 are preferably of buoyant material, hence will notscrape on the bottom of the pool in a manner that would tend to causeobjectionable wear on their lower sides. They could, of course, be madeof metal cloth, if desired, and in such instance would tend to holdtheir open shape.

Secured to the forward marginal portion of the top wall 2, at a pointcentrally between its ends is an elongated handle 24. The joint 25connecting the handle with said marginal portion is a universal jointpermitting swinging of the handle relative to the scoop in anydirection. This joint may be a ball and socket joint or any other typeof joint permitting universal pivotal movement of the handle relative tothe scoop.

At each outer side of the forward end of the scoop is a verticallypositioned, rearwardly extending plate 26, each plate being pivoted atits lower forward end to the scoop at the lower forward end of thelatter. Coaxial pivots 27 so secure the plates 26 to the scoop forvertical swinging of the plates rearwardly of the pivots. Plates 26preferably extend slightly divergently relative to each other indirection rearwardly of the pivots, and their lower edges aresubstantially straight so they will ride on the floor of the pool. Thepivots permit the plates to accommodate themselves to irregularities inthe surface contour of the pool, and they extend rearwardly from thepivots 27 a substantial distance to insure against leaves and the likealong the sides of the path of travel of the scoop from swirling topositions behind the scoop and below the latter as the scoop is movedforwardly. Usually this distance is substantially less than thehorizontal length of the scoop, but past the point where the bottom ofthe scoop leaves the floor when the wheels support the scoop on thefloor with blade 6 against the floor.

In operation, when leaves or any other foreign material is observed onthe floor of a filled pool, it is merely necessary to lower the scoop tothe fioor and to scoop the leaves into the leading open end of thecleaner. If this operation were to disturb leaves alongside the path oftravel of the scoop, the operator would be compelled to wait until the.leaves so disturbed were to again settle to the bottom before making theattempt to again scoop them up. Such a delay could well run into manyminutes, and the advantages derived from the use of the cleaner would belost. However, by reason of the plates 26, the leaves are not disturbedand the cleaner can be freely moved over the floor of the pool in anydirection to eificiently pick up foreign solids.

The detailed description of the device is not intended to be restrictiveof the invention, but it merely describes a preferred form thereof.

I claim:

1. A pool cleaner comprising a scoop having top, bottom and side wallsand open front and rear ends providing a generally horizontallyextending through passageway, the forward edge of said bottom wall beingstraight and horizontal, means supporting said scoop for movement overthe floor of a pool with said forward edge leading and in engagementwithsaid floor, a relatively open mesh bag secured to the rear end of saidscoop over said open rear end of said passageway for receiving'foreignsolids passing over said forward edge and through said passageway whilepermitting water to pass freely through the mesh openings in the wallsof said bag, said side walls extending convergently rearwardly from theforward end portions thereof adjacent to said forward edge tosubstantially said rear open end and each side wall comprising a pair oflapping flanges respectively on the top and bottom wall separable fortelescopic relative movement to enable moving said top wall upwardlyfrom said bottom wall while maintaining the sides of said scoop closed,means pivotally connecting the pair of flanges along each side of saidscoop at their ends remote from said forward edge for swinging said topwall vertically about said means to different adjusted positions tothereby increase or decrease the size of said forward open end of saidpassageway as desired, and means connected with said flanges forreleasably securing the flanges of each pair together against movementthereof out of any of such adjusted positions.

2. A pool cleaner comprising a generally horizontally disposed scoophaving horizontally extending top, bottom and lateral side walls andoppositely horizontally directed, open, leading and trailing ends andground wheels on said scoop supporting said scoop for movement in onedirection over the floor of a pool with said leading end foremost andwith said trailing end rearmost, a porous bag secured over the opentrailing end of said scoop, a pair of vertically disposed, horizontallyelongated opposed plates at opposite lateral sides of said scoop at saidleading open end having leading ends pivotally connected with said scoopat said leading end of said scoop and extending rearwardly in adirection generally toward said trailing end of said scoop for swingingof the portions of said plates extending rearwardly from their saidleading ends about a horizontal axis substantially normal to thelongitudinal axis of said scoop extending through said open leading andtrailing ends of said scoop, pivots so connecting said plates with saidscoop and supporting said plates with their lower edges in engagementwith the floor of a pool when the leading end of said scoop is adjacentto such floor in cleaning position, said plates being free fromobstruction to free swinging of the portions of said plates extendingrearwardly from their said leading ends under the influence of gravitywhereby said plates will automatically follow irregularities in theupper surface of the floor upon moving said scoop thereover in adirection with its leading open end foremost.

3. A pool cleaner comprising a generally horizontally disposed scoophaving horizontally extending top, bot tom and lateral side walls andoppositely horizontally directed, open, leading and trailing ends andground wheels on said scoop supporting said scoop for movement in onedirection over the floor of a pool with said leading end foremost andwith said trailing end rearmost, a porous bag secured over the opentrailing end of said scoop, a pair of vertically disposed, opposedplates at opposite lateral sides of said scoop at said leading open endpivotally connected with said scoop for swinging about a horizontal axissubstantially normal to the longitudinal axis of said scoop extendingthrough said open leading and trailing ends, pivots so connecting saidplates with said scoop and supporting said plates in positions forsupporting said leading end on said floor during said movement of saidscoop over the floor of a pool, said plates extending divergentlyrelatively to each other in a direction from the leading end of saidscoop generally toward said trailing end.

4. A pool cleaner comprising a generally horizontally disposed scoophaving horizontally extending top, bottom and lateral side walls andoppositely horizontally directed, open, leading and trailing ends andground wheels on said scoop supporting said scoop for movement in onedirection over the floor of a pool with said leading end foremost andwith said trailing end rearmost, a porous bag secured over the opentrailing end of said scoop, a pair of vertically disposed, opposedplates at opposite lateral sides of said scoop at said leading open endpivotally connected with said scoop for swinging about a horizontal axissubstantially normal to the longitudinal axis of said scoop extendingthrough said open leading and trailing ends, and adapted to support saidleading end on said floor during said movement of said scoop over thefloor of a pool, said plates extending from points adjacent to said openleading end in direction generally toward said trailing end, said bottomWall terminating in a free edge defining the lower side of said leadingopen end and said edge being substantially in engagement with the saidfloor of a pool when said plates are on said floor, said scoop beingswingable about said axis when said plates are in engagement with saidfloor whereby a construction is provided to enable swingably supportingsaid scoop on said plates during movement of said scoop and plates overthe floor.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,480,562 Mock Jan. 15, 1924 1,703,402 Matsuoka Feb. 26, 1929 1,707,010Hermann Mar. 26, 1929 2,018,146 Herrington May 25, 1937 2,241,252Garland May 6, 1941 FOREIGN PATENTS 578,354 Great Britain June 25, 1946599,030 Great Britain Mar. 31, 1948 916,849 Germany -q, Aug, 19, 1954

